<p>For as long as I can remember, my dad had what we always called “shaking legs.” He would bounce his feet while paying close attention to something or when he was drifting off after a long day of work. It was a habit that soothed him. He rocked me the same way when I was small, and somehow that feeling stuck with me. I still do it today without thinking about it.</p><p>When Preya and I got married, the habit came with me. She would fall asleep beside me while I rocked my legs, and it became this quiet rhythm we both knew. When I was preaching full time, she often sat alone in worship because I was teaching, leading, praying, or doing something up front. So when we later moved to a congregation where we could finally sit together again, it felt like a gift. We could hold hands, sing side by side, bow in prayer as one. I have not taken that for granted.</p><p>The funny part is that the same habit that calmed her to sleep at home became the thing that distracted her the most in worship. She takes handwritten notes. I use my phone. I focus. My legs start going. And pretty soon, I am accidentally shaking her too. Every so often, her hand quietly lands on my leg which means, “Stop shaking.”</p><p>Last Sunday, during the sermon (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZWTsyW9b60&#38;t=2s"><strong><em>Click here to Watch</em></strong></a>), she did it again and I caught myself thinking about how something so small and personal to me could spill over into someone else’s space. Not in a harmful way, but enough to be felt. She would never call it an inconvenience, but it made me reflect on how our habits, struggles, and little quirks often show up in shared spaces.</p><p>The next day, reflecting on this while doing some studies, is when my mind went back to the book of James. About a year ago, I studied it closely, but certain parts feel louder now than they did then. Especially the questions in James five. In English they read like possibilities. In the original language they read more like realities.</p><p>James 5:13 begins with, “Is anyone among you suffering?” but it can just as faithfully read, “Since someone among you is suffering.”</p><p>That changes how you hear it.</p><p>James is not imagining a chance. He is acknowledging a fact. In any church family, someone is suffering. Someone is cheerful. Someone is sick. Someone is spiritually weak. Someone needs prayer. Someone is carrying shame. Someone is carrying a burden that no one else sees. These are not hypotheticals. They are present realities every time we gather.</p><p>And even with a common faith, we do not walk into the room with the same emotional temperature. We carry different stories, different battles, and different weights.</p><p>Before moving further, here is the picture I took that morning. I did not know it would matter later, but it captured the whole moment. Her notes. My Bible. Her hand on my leg. A gentle reminder that we steady each other, even when we are trying to keep each other from shaking the whole pew.</p><p>It made me realize that in worship, in community, and in life, there is a difference between agreeing with Scripture and actually living it out. We might all believe <a target="_blank" href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%206%3A2&#38;version=NASB">Galatians 6:2</a>, but living it requires patience, gentleness, and room for each other’s humanity. It means accepting that worship is a shared space filled with people who are trying, hurting, healing, and growing.</p><p>Weakness is not a disruption. Struggle is not a distraction. Sorrow is not a nuisance. These are the sounds of a family learning the rhythm of grace.</p><p>As I thought about it more, four passages came to mind. They each call us to something deeper, something compassionate, something active.</p><p><strong>1. Romans 12:15</strong></p><p>“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”</p><p>Some of us bring celebration into the room. Others bring quiet pain. God calls us to match the moment with love.</p><p><strong>2. Galatians 6:2</strong></p><p>“Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”</p><p>This is more than empathy. It is participation. It is stepping into someone else’s weight so they do not carry it alone.</p><p><strong>3. James 5:16</strong></p><p>“Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.”</p><p>Healing grows where honesty is safe. James reminds us that sin loses power when confession gains courage.</p><p><strong>4. Hebrews 10:24</strong></p><p>“Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.”</p><p>Consider means to pause, observe, and respond thoughtfully. It calls us to intentional kindness, not accidental support.</p><p>All of this brings me back to shaking legs in a church pew. It reminds me that the people around us are not inconveniences. They are reminders that we belong to each other. The church is not a place where strong people gather. It is a place where all people gather to meet a strong Savior.</p><p>And if we learn to give each other room, patience, and presence, then the things that shake us may become the very things that strengthen us.</p><p><strong>Closing Invitation</strong></p><p>Thank you for spending this time with me. If anything in this reflection encouraged you, challenged you, or simply helped you feel a little more seen in your own walk of faith, I am grateful. That is why I write and why I keep showing up in this small corner of the internet.</p><p>If you would like to support the effort and help me keep sharing these studies, stories, and devotionals, I have a simple “<strong><em>Buy Me a Coffee</em></strong>” link below. No pressure at all. Just an open door for anyone who feels moved to help.</p><p>Your support, whether through prayer, sharing the article, or contributing, genuinely means more than you know.</p><p><strong>“</strong><a target="_blank" href="https://buymeacoffee.com/journeywithjesus"><strong>Buy Me a Coffee</strong></a><strong>”</strong></p><p>Thank you for walking this journey with me.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Journey With Jesus at <a href="https://singhjonathan78.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">singhjonathan78.substack.com/subscribe</a>